RIP Slayer's Jeff Hanneman
The 49 year old passes away in California from liver failure
Slayer have announced that guitarist and founder member Jeff Hanneman has died at the age of 49.
He'd been suffering from the effects of a spider bite since early 2011, and passed away as a result of liver failure in California at around 11am (US Pacific Time) on May 2nd.
They've released the following statement on through the bands website:
Slayer is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away at about 11AM this morning near his Southern California home. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry, and will be sorely missed. Our Brother Jeff Hanneman, May He Rest In Peace (1964 - 2013)
Tributes to the guitarist have been paid on Twitter from the likes of Metallica, Slash, Papa Roach, Megadeth, Anthrax and many more.
The band, with Gary Holt filling in on guitar, had been due to start a tour of European festivals on June 4th in Poland, but it's not been confirmed if the appearances will go ahead. The group are booked in for Bloodstock Open Air on August 11th.